How do I sponsor a migrant?
Pre-sessional courses
This page explains the procedure that you must follow if you are offering a pre-sessional course to prepare a Tier 4 (General) student for their main course of study, or if a student will take a pre-sessional course with another education provider before beginning their main course of study with you.
What is a pre-sessional course?
Some migrants may need to take a pre-sessional course immediately before they start their full-time course of study in the UK. A pre-sessional course is an intensive English language course or any other course that prepares the migrant for their main course of study.
Who can provide a pre-sessional course?
The provider of the pre-sessional course may be:
- the prospective sponsor for the migrant's main course;
- a 'partner' institution which has been named as a 'branch' on the prospective main sponsor's licence; or
- an organisation that is not included in the prospective main sponsor's licence.
For more information about partner institutions and branches, see the A single body or a number of branches page.
If a migrant is taking a pre-sessional course with you
If you are providing a pre-sessional course to a Tier 4 (General) student, the course must meet the full requirements of a course for Tier 4 (General) students - except that it does not need to lead to a recognised qualification.
If you are not named as a 'branch' on the licence of the prospective sponsor for the migrant's main course of study, you must be a licensed Tier 4 sponsor in your own right.
If you are named as a 'branch' on the prospective main sponsor's licence, you must still meet all the eligibility requirements - for example, you must be subject to a system of reviews and/or hold valid accreditation in your own right from one of our approved bodies.
The student will need a separate confirmation of acceptance for studies (CAS) to cover the pre-sessional course if:
- the offer of a main course of study that the student will be progressing to is conditional on their successfully completing the pre-sessional course; or
- you are not the sponsor for the main course or named as a branch on the main sponsor's licence.
In this case, the migrant will have to make two separate applications under Tier 4 - one for the pre-sessional course and the other for the main course.
You will not need to provide a separate CAS for the pre-sessional course if the migrant has an unconditional offer of a main course of study and:
- you are also providing the migrant's main course of study; or
- you are named as a branch on the main provider's sponsor licence (in which case the main provider will assign a CAS covering both courses).
If a migrant is taking a pre-sessional course with another provider before studying a main course with you
You can provide a single confirmation of acceptance for studies (CAS) to cover both the pre-sessional course and the main course if:
- you have given the migrant an unconditional offer to take their main course with you; and
- the provider of the pre-sessional course is named as a branch on your sponsor licence.
In all other situations, the migrant will need to obtain a CAS from the provider of the pre-sessional course, and a separate CAS from you for the main course once they have completed the pre-sessional course and received an unconditional offer from you. In this case, the migrant will have to make two separate applications under Tier 4 - one for the pre-sessional course and the other for the main course.